Written by the reviewer from the ASR + docket; [verbatim-ASR] = quoted machine transcript; [paraphrase] = reviewer's wording, not a quote.
0:00 All right, we will call to order the committee of the whole
0:05 first move to approve the minutes of the September 28th
0:09 Meeting without the necessity of a reading
0:11 Second motion has been made and seconded any discussion
0:15 Hearing none all those in favor. I and that motion passes. All right. We have one item on the agenda tonight
0:23 We have the Lakewood
0:25 Public art master plan proposal that's been worked on for a good part of a year. I think great and we have
0:33 Folks from the planning team here to talk about us. And of course leading the charge is Amanda Kramer from planning department
0:40 So I'll turn it over to you guys
0:44 Hello everybody. Good evening. Thank you for being here to talk about public art again
0:49 I'm gonna keep my comments pretty brief here
0:52 We have the team from the County Planning Commission who were the consultants on the job here to give a little background some updates and
0:59 Moving forward what we're looking at. So
1:05 Meg and Cheney from the county and Jim Sonner alter
1:10 Okay, great. Thanks. I don't know how I've never known how to pronounce your name
1:14 Meg is a little bit sick, but she is toughing it out. So if she sounds a little
1:19 She's but she's here
1:23 Thank you for being here
1:24 Yeah, if you push that it should turn green for you
1:33 So, yes, good evening everyone
1:46 Very pleased to be talking about the 2026 Lakewood public art master plan
1:51 I know introductions you guys are familiar with the planning and development staff
1:57 But of course, I wanted to highlight Angie Byington
2:01 The director of planning development and of course Amanda Kramer our point of contact and the the the leader of this great effort
2:10 For okay County. We are led by Mary Serby our executive director
2:14 Who is Jim son halter the manager of design and implementation on Meg and Cheney and as Amanda said I?
2:22 if my voice gives out at any point Jim can
2:26 fly in and save the day and I have
2:29 If I have any sneezes, I'll just kind of exit for a moment and be right back. I
2:35 Was greatly helped by our team at County planning along with
2:40 Nicole Laird a fellow senior planner and we had some great interns who helped with the Vika the program as well
2:47 we also have been aided by a great information team led by Dan Meany and
2:51 They have helped really gather and synthesize a lot of information and you'll see their efforts in some of the maps
2:57 as they go through the presentation
3:01 this program was part of
3:04 the community planning services program
3:07 the city of Lakewood applied for and received an award for professional planning services to develop the public art master plan through
3:15 The community planning services program in 2025 Lakewood was one of ten applications received and when afford
3:22 Awarded so it was it's always a competitive round
3:26 And Lakewood always does a great job in preparing their applications
3:31 And I know we've always been happy to work here the last time we did that was for Madison Park master plan
3:38 the city of Lakewood and
3:40 County planning entered into a contract in July of 2025 and work began very shortly thereafter
3:47 From the outset Lakewood identified several goals that they would like to achieve with this progress project project
3:55 Including identify opportunities to grow Lakewood's public art in an innovative strategic and equitable way
4:02 Understand how demographics inform accessibility
4:05 Increase efficacy of the PAAB and identify the art installation maintenance challenges and potential solutions
4:12 So this is our standard planning process. We weren't sure because this is a little bit of a departure for us
4:20 We have incorporated public art recommendations in many of our other plans
4:25 But we this was the first we've done a planning process solely based on public art
4:29 We were happy to see that this this tribe and true
4:35 Really worked for these purposes as well. So we start with the current conditions which documented
4:41 existing public art in the city the theme the types and
4:45 We looked at certain sets of data to understand how those impact accessibility and equity in public art
4:55 We turn to vision and recommendations on the vision statement is a broad statement regarding future desired state of public art in Lakewood
5:04 And then the recommendations are a series of goals and strategies
5:08 To help achieve that stated vision. The implementation is really the nuts and bolts of the plan
5:15 It details the timeline priority cost estimates potential partners for every goal and strategy in the plan
5:23 And then the final plan is just wrapping it up
5:26 into a cohesive document
5:30 With this plan and most of our other and all of our other plans to incorporate
5:35 Community engagement the whole way through and I'll talk a little bit more about that in the next few slides
5:40 So just a general timeline
5:43 We started August of last year and we really
5:47 Wrapped up with the first draft of the complete plan this past spring and then over the summer it was vetted to
5:55 The various city departments and we got some feedback and and that helped really refine the plan
6:01 So as I said because this was kind of a new endeavor for us
6:06 We really relied on a deep bench of experts to help inform this process and that involved the steering committee
6:14 Community stakeholders and and various types of public engagement
6:18 So the steering committee we met monthly we have Dave Robar here. He was one of us and councilman Brian Evans
6:26 From the city of Lakewood. We had Angela Buyington Amanda Kramer in Andrews who started on Lakewood alive and moved over to
6:35 about midway through the project
6:37 Nick from Public Works and then
6:40 We also had Lakewood artists who were involved in the PAAB as well as community
6:45 organizations Lauren small from Lakewood Chamber of Commerce Mark Walter from Lakewood City Schools and then Joe Higgins from Lakewood alive
6:53 So some of the broad themes that the steering committee
6:58 Provided to us was really they wanted to focus on increasing the diversity of our public art form
7:04 Looking at locating public art in a strategic way the installation of public art and addressing some of those challenges and opportunities
7:12 compensation for artists maintenance and removal of public art
7:17 And best practices involving that as well as regulatory mechanisms
7:22 So I won't go through all of these but we really tried to get not only very local artists and
7:29 Art organizations, but also those art and art organizations on a more regional and county-wide scale
7:39 Various service providers you see the Lakewood Public Library YMCA the Cuban Metro parks
7:44 These are spaces that can really host a lot of public art and make a big impact because of the traffic through those places
7:51 We also engaged area art teachers, and I'll talk a little bit more about
7:56 Those efforts with public engagement with those art teachers
8:00 But we really wanted to get their perspective because their frontline with students and public art really has a huge impact on the youth
8:09 Some of the stakeholder feedback we talked about opportunities including placement and events
8:15 opportunities in form and theme or purpose
8:20 Accessibility and equity and various challenges to putting up public art
8:27 Other really interesting thoughts that were kind of common threads
8:32 Included in the fact that public art cultivates a culture of respect and compassion that public art is a way to combat great brain drain
8:41 That it works in the community that working in the community makes artists feel impactful
8:46 What was interesting is that in talking to a lot of artists?
8:49 They felt that often times they feel very isolated and that that work their work isn't having the impact that they want it to
8:56 So it was a very interesting perspective from kind of another point of view
9:01 And then also that art needs to be carefully executed without limiting artists freedom, but also and also needs to be respectful
9:09 And not detract from the beauty of a building or space
9:13 I think what's interesting about these these comments is it really highlights just how impactful public art is and
9:20 some of the multiplier effects that public art has
9:24 So for public engagement we really started right off the bat in August 2025
9:31 Art liquid arts festival, and we talked about the the upcoming plan its goals
9:38 Some future you know public art opportunities got everyone's kind of feedback
9:43 During that time people were excited. We also took that opportunity to distribute our community survey
9:50 so people either filled that out there or
9:53 Used their phone to access the QR code we had that community surveyed then available on our website
10:00 Lakewood did the same and we also pushed that out on social media, and then the youth engagement survey
10:06 I'll talk about in just a few slides
10:09 So the survey over 90% of respondents felt good or very good about current public art in Lakewood
10:16 Just to highlight some of their favorite pieces really they they reference murals and the utility box wraps as some of their favorite
10:23 Types of public art and then they referenced several murals around town as well as transversion in front of the
10:33 So the survey highlighted some really interesting things and helped inform our our
10:38 Recommendations for the plan so preferred places for public art included significant buildings and places
10:44 seconded by commercial corridors and then parks
10:47 For preferred types of public art their murals infrastructure sculpture infrastructure was very interesting because there's not a lot of that
10:57 But we did reference the the crosswalk murals and the murals on the roadway
11:02 Which were very popular people those who have seen them were very interested in seeing more of them
11:07 Preferred themes of public art include nature community and diversity
11:14 The overwhelming majority indicated that they would like to see public art required a new development
11:20 as was the support for
11:23 for increased budget
11:25 Types of support favored volunteer work was the most common answer second by donation and fundraising
11:33 So for the youth engagement we were very interested in
11:37 Targeting the youth because this is off the youth is oftentimes left out of
11:44 Community engagement efforts or they don't show up
11:46 So we went to where they were and we went to both LHS and st
11:52 We wanted to get the opinion of high schoolers because they are just starting to be
11:59 Autonomous in the city. They are exploring the city on their own and experiencing public art on their own in more
12:06 One-on-one a more personal basis rather than riding in their their car with their parents
12:11 So we took several boards to art classes at these high schools and we asked them
12:19 Identify the the murals and the pieces of public art
12:24 Currently existing in Lakewood that resonate most with you
12:27 We also asked them what type of public art would you like to see more of the various forms that included murals?
12:34 asphalt art sculpture
12:37 illuminated art interactive art
12:39 infrastructure art nature based
12:41 and performance art
12:43 We also asked where you would like to see more
12:46 That included the main streets public parks
12:50 gateways the schools
12:52 Community buildings as well as apartment buildings
12:56 And lastly we had two different
12:59 Boards that were tailored for the various for the two different schools
13:04 We took pictures of the campus and highlighted places around each school
13:08 That could host public art and just ask the kids to brainstorm
13:13 So what was really interesting was that the kids really mirrored what we saw in the public survey
13:19 They loved the mural of the Sosa steps and loved the Sosa steps
13:25 So I think that highlights really one how important it is and how much public art impacts
13:32 The community space and how that important that is to the youth it also highlights themes of nature and civic pride
13:41 In terms of type of art they really they loved the murals and what was surprising is that nature-based art was really
13:49 They called that that was the second most
13:52 desired type of public art
13:56 I just I was very impressed by that so you know and it makes sense they they want to be in the parks so
14:03 That's where that's the type of art that they would like to see
14:06 And then they're in that next on that next board that city parks was highlighted as well as the main streets the places
14:13 Where these kids are going in terms of I didn't include this in the plan
14:17 But a lot there was for the types of public art that they the in the brainstorming activity they highlighted
14:26 different things for school spirit
14:28 Mascots as well as sports figures there was a lot of reference to the bronchi
14:32 So research and data so we in our plans we a lot of times amass a lot of
14:43 and because this is
14:45 Tailored just to public art we really tried to pare that down and really look at those things that just impact accessibility
14:53 We also looked at many case studies
14:56 I will read through all these but this provided a really great roadmap for what other cities had done
15:02 Provided some info good inspiration for recommendations
15:06 And a good kind of roadmap to make sure that we were headed in the right direction
15:13 So the first step in kind of collecting this data
15:16 We had the city provide to us all the locations of existing public art
15:20 And those are those dots I know it's kind of hard to see the different
15:23 But they are differentiated on the type of public art
15:27 We didn't include the utility box wraps because they were being updated so rapidly through the process and
15:33 It also would have the whole map would have been covered so we would just we wanted to kind of do a deeper dive
15:41 So we took those pinpoints of the existing public art, and we then created a buffer of a quarter mile
15:49 Usually we do a half mile buffer because that's about a 10-minute walk, but the whole city was covered
15:55 So that's a big kudos to Lakewood, but we really wanted to get at a hyper local scale and see
16:02 What areas weren't being in very very accessible to public art and you see those those white areas
16:09 In the city are largely residential areas
16:12 But it highlighted an important thing and those that is the opportunity to increase public art in residential spaces
16:19 And we do dedicate a portion of the plan to that
16:24 We use that watch and then to overlay important demographic
16:29 One the diversity index which is a metric put out by the census
16:33 Which is the likelihood of any two people in an area being of a different racial or cultural background
16:39 So we really that that dark red area indicate indicates the most diverse area
16:44 And they're really that's toward the east and the southeast of the city
16:47 So that highlights opportunities to one make sure that the public art is reflective of the people living there
16:52 And also engage people from those minority groups to potentially contribute to public art
16:58 We looked at senior populations
17:00 Really that northern part of the scene of the of the city hosts more seniors
17:06 And there's their opportunities to just maketalk that public art is accessible that people can walk up to it
17:12 And if not, then it's easily seen
17:15 From the sidewalk or from the roadway and they're highlighted is a mural that was applied to an ADA
17:25 On a commercial district. We also looked at differently abled populations hearing impairment vision impairment ambulatory impairment
17:33 Really to help highlight some different public art that could be addressed those differently abled populations
17:40 What you see there is a map that is doubles as a piece of public art, but it's Braille
17:46 So not only is it can be experienced tactfully, but it's also serves as important way finding
17:54 environmental characteristics
17:55 So these two maps are kind of the inverse of each other percent impervious surface
17:59 The darkest areas have the highest percentage of impervious surface and highlights really great opportunities to do asphalt art or functional art
18:07 that provides shade
18:09 percent tree canopy there's that that lovely hand coming up and
18:14 Protecting that tree it not only protects the tree roots, but also celebrates the the nature that's around it
18:20 So we also compiled an in opportunity inventory
18:26 So we went we took all the the big commercial corridors Detroit Madison
18:39 Identified those buildings that had blank facades that could host a mural
18:44 We also looked at large swaths of impervious surface those
18:49 those big parking lots as well as community parks and and civic buildings or places of
18:57 community gathering as
18:59 Potential opportunities for a public art and we provided that list to the city correct Amanda
19:07 So that really I guess before I go on that really you know all of those things combined
19:13 It's a great way to generate ideas and look for opportunities going forward in a in a fairly strategic way
19:22 So all of that information all that background
19:25 We took and developed a vision and guiding principles
19:30 Goal strategies action steps, and you'll see that it goes from a very broad general statement to a very very specific
19:38 Kind of getting into the nitty-gritty with the action steps
19:40 So I'm going to go ahead and read this whole thing because it's it's a mouthful, but I
19:46 Was very impressed with the steering committee and how thoughtful
19:50 They were in framing how important public art is and how they want it to grow in the future
19:56 So the city of Lakewood continues to envision promote and commission public art that is authentic
20:01 Welcoming and deepens our collective sense of place Lakewood embraces inclusion and accessibility through public art that reflects the many
20:09 Stories and experiences in our community and that is placed in both traditional and unexpected places so people of all ages abilities and backgrounds can experience and enjoy it
20:16 By prioritizing innovation placemaking and functionality in public art Lakewood invites curiosity and a deeper sense of belonging while improving our built and natural surroundings
20:25 Collectively Lakewood's public art celebrates who we are where we live and the environment we depend on and I just thought that was beautiful those those bold and
20:34 Highlighted words then formed our guiding principles so basically like Lakewood I'm sorry public art should be authentic inclusive and accessible innovative placemaking and functional
20:41 So from there we developed four goals I'll read through these as we go along but basically what types and what forms of public art should be used in public art
20:51 Can be expanded on where can we expand these types of public art ensure that it embraces equity in all aspects and lastly create sustaining processes for the PA AB
20:58 So from there we developed four goals I'll read through these as we go along but basically what types and what forms of public art can be expanded on
21:07 Where can we expand these types of public art ensure that it embraces equity in all aspects and lastly create sustaining processes for the PA AB
21:19 So goal one Lakewood will continue to inspire and embrace the community through a diversity of public art forms styles and themes
21:27 So these were the many categories that public art the form that it can take and I wanted to just highlight rather than going through all of these I want to just highlight one
21:39 Was the infrastructural and the functional art explore how public art can serve multiple purposes for the public good and integrate gray and green infrastructure
21:50 I really think that the strength of this plan is in its examples we had a fantastic time researching and reaching out to people across the globe
22:01 We talked to people in France and the Netherlands and Germany about making sure that we had usage rights to use their examples
22:10 But there were so many innovative things that artists were doing across the globe and that cities were doing
22:17 So that hand is in Texas actually and that works as a storm water filtration it catches runoff from a bridge and filters the water before the water hits the creek
22:29 So it's a storm water cleaning device as well as a really cool piece of art that runs along there's a multi-purpose trail
22:35 That mural is in the Bronx and that was used that was painted using air light paint and that purifies polluted air
22:44 I don't have the number right here but it is astonishing amount of pollutants that are drawn down by this mural
22:52 It's in the plan and so that's Bronx air quality it's a struggle to keep things clean in the city so it's just amazing what artists and technology are doing
23:05 So goal two continue to pursue the installation of public art in target areas throughout Lakewood
23:11 And I wanted to highlight parks and green space just considering how important that was to the youth population
23:19 Continue to incorporate public art into Lakewood's parks and green spaces in a manner that invites social interaction, physical activity, and honors the natural surroundings
23:28 That sea star there was part of an installation at the Smithsonian National Zoo
23:35 An artist used reclaimed plastic from the Atlantic Ocean to create these sculptures that went all throughout the
24:06 And goal three ensure public art in Lakewood embraces all aspects of equity so that it promotes racial, cultural, and gender equity
24:17 Has diverse art forms, styles, and themes, is accessible, and representative of all ages and abilities
24:25 And I would just highlight the accessibility again a really neat example here was this was in Canada
24:33 A development of an old airfield was both residential and commercial and they had this old airplane hanger that they wanted to put a mural on
24:44 So they commissioned this artist who then worked with a comic book artist who was a low vision individual
24:52 And they created this palette that would be accessible to people with all levels of vision not only in its palette but then he also incorporated tactile elements in the mural
25:02 With those orbs and some braille he also made a 3D model with high relief of the mural
25:08 It was very cool so I didn't read the recommendation so ensure public art can be accessed and enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities
25:16 And finally goal four create sustaining processes for the public art advisory board including planning, funding, strategies, and public relations procedures
25:26 And funding strategies, planning and process, engagement and outreach, and installation and maintenance were how we framed this section of the plan
25:34 And to highlight funding strategies sustain Lakewood's public art program through diverse and lasting funding sources
25:41 One thing that many cities have done and the state of Ohio has done is a percent for art program
25:49 Which is a developer or a municipality or whoever is funding a large development over a certain dollar threshold
25:59 Then has to donate 1% to 2% towards public art
26:05 So in Ohio developments have to invest in this public art and then there's a public art commission of the state of Ohio
26:13 They funded this big sculpture at Central State University through this program
26:19 And then implementation so this is kind of the nuts and bolts of the plan
26:26 This is what people working in planning departments generally go for because it lays it all out there
26:33 So we identify, we work with the city to identify priority, high, medium, and low
26:40 Time frame, zero to two years, two to five, five to ten, and ongoing
26:44 Estimated cost and you see kind of the breakdown, we use those symbols there with the lowest, the one dollar sign being zero to $50,000
26:54 The highest being $500,000 or more
26:58 We did include a little, an extra dollar sign with an asterisk
27:04 When public art is paired with other improvements, the costs are obviously just like everything else goes way down
27:11 We also identified lead agencies and potential partners and resources
27:15 So that's kind of what that looks like
27:17 And that's just kind of the playbook that the city can use then to start implementing these various recommendations
27:28 Thank you so much for the overview and for all the work on this very impressive plan
27:35 I'll just note, I mentioned this before, but my undergrad degree is a BFA in sculpture
27:41 So in my final project was redesigning a bridge and going into little Italy, the bridge you walk underneath and it's really ugly
27:49 And so redoing that so it's functional art, so it's very exciting to see all of this take place
27:55 I'm also really just very interested, I think that this intersects really nicely with some of our other large scale plans
28:04 So we have the ADA transition plan that's looking at all of our rights of ways, so talking about the accessibility
28:10 Our active transportation plan and safe streets for all, safe paths to school
28:15 Which I think we're going to need to be revisiting in short order
28:19 And hopefully work with the schools to do that, but incorporating the public art into that process I think will be really important
28:27 And I loved the highlighting of using bike lanes and crosswalks and things
28:35 And as well as the gateway, I think about that all the time coming in out of Lakewood
28:41 And things that we can do on, I love that you highlight the railroad crossing or the bridge over West Clifton
28:48 Because I always think that could be nicer, or the pedestrian bridge as you head into 117th is actually in Cleveland
28:54 But it's right as you're coming into Lakewood, so if you drove under that you could be like welcome to Lakewood if you get permission
29:00 So anyway, just lots of ideas, I love seeing all this incorporated
29:04 I know my colleagues have dug into this as well and have a lot of questions
29:08 I'm going to start, since Council Member Evans was intimately involved with this, I'll go to Council Member Nefferts first
29:16 Thank you Chair Keppel
29:19 So this is, some of you might know, this is a very exciting day for me
29:24 So it was, over ten years ago the Council of Public was at the table with me at the Beck Center
29:29 With some other folks in the community of Lakewood Alive and just said, how can we start making public art a part of who we are as a city
29:37 And this kind of product was just a figment of our imagination at that time, I mean an absolute dream
29:44 So to get here today and to actually see this put into place, it's just, it's very exciting
29:53 And the highest compliment I can pay to the team is, you know, you talked about how this is the first time that you've done this specific type of plan
30:01 And during the process you wouldn't have known that
30:04 It was just very well done, the community outreach was fantastic
30:09 And we do have great community players, Dave Robar, who's an artist in his own rights and served on the Public Art Advisory Board with myself
30:18 And of course, Manna Kramer, who was, we couldn't have a better person in position in the planning department to push this effort forward
30:24 So, incredibly proud of all the people who made this, just a few things that I wanted to call out that I was particularly happy to see
30:33 The implementation piece I think is really strong and robust
30:36 It gives us the actual kind of the structure to know when and where and how
30:42 The inclusivity, again, that piece, who, what, why, where, all those things building into it in every aspect of what public art is and what the community is
30:54 And one thing that often goes overlooked, and it drives me nuts, is compensation
30:59 Artists are important parts of our community and their work should not be written off
31:05 Try to be discounted or undermined or lowballed, these folks, this is their job
31:11 Their work is seen more than so many other people's in the community, they absolutely deserve to be fairly compensated for that work
31:18 So I'm glad that we've baked that into this plan because if we want to be a community that's serious about the arts, we have to be serious about treating artists like they're important to part of the community, then we value them
31:28 So just, I don't have any questions, I'm a little more familiar with this than most folks
31:33 I think this is fantastic, it exceeded my expectations, and I just want sincere thanks to everybody who played a role
31:42 Thank you, and you're here
31:44 I did have a question actually that reminds me, on the slide, there was one mentioned about folks mentioning volunteering
31:51 And was that meaning wanting to be engaged in a public participation project? We weren't talking about artists volunteering their time, is that correct?
32:01 Yes, that was, I think, we framed that question more as if you were to lend your support as a resident of Lakewood toward public art, what would you consider doing?
32:19 So it was volunteering for maintenance, for clean up, beautification
32:24 Great, thanks, I just wanted to make sure that that's what we're talking about to Councilman Evans' point
32:29 Also, another note I had is about with the nature art, love seeing the youth concerned about that
32:34 But it also seems when we're looking at all the pavement potential and trying to break up some big chunks of pavement, it could also go with our tree, also ties into our tree canopy plan
32:47 So if we can combine that with adding green islands and large paved areas that are also art, we can tie a lot of our goals together
32:57 So lots of opportunities to do that
32:59 Okay, I will stop talking. Other council members who? Vice President Baker
33:03 Thank you, and thank you, Meg Cheney, who is a Lakewood resident, by the way
33:08 And so, you know, as a career and then as a resident, I'm sure you're interested in this
33:13 Thank you, the Planning Department, thank you, Councilman Evans
33:17 A couple things as I read through this, very exciting, very glad we're taking this step
33:24 I didn't notice there's not that much in Ward 1
33:26 I'm not normally very parochial when it comes to like council stuff, like we're all trustees for the city
33:31 But it seemed to be that like Ward 2 and 3 right in the middle got a lot of public art and then we're missing some on the ends of town
33:40 Yeah, and it did strike me that during my time on Planning Commission, VEX Center, which obviously Performing Arts is probably our biggest performing arts facility and entity in Lakewood
33:51 is right there on the West End, and they started kind of like a loose collection planning called like the West End Lakewood
33:57 And one of the things I went to a couple meetings with them, they were talking about kind of like arch features
34:03 Think about Short North and Columbus, obviously those are very expensive things
34:07 But they also kind of create a sense of arrival and you arrive somewhere, they let you know that this district is unique
34:13 And that's kind of, so I have a couple points I want to hit, but some of the public art
34:19 It's good to incentivize private property owners, murals, those types of things
34:24 A lot of this is going to occur in city property, which I would define as like public rights of way and parks
34:30 What kind of coordination did we do with Public Works?
34:34 I love Chris Gordon, but the first statement he always makes before he does anything else is we'll add it to the list that Public Works has and it's very long
34:41 So what kind of coordination do we have with Public Works about some of the things that they might need to be maintaining or have maintenance plans for?
34:47 Yeah, so as Megan stated, Nick, not he was in all of our meetings with us
34:52 His expression as opposed to Chris Gordon's is everything is a conversation
34:58 So, you know, there were some things that I highlighted to him specifically, especially as they related to bike lanes and some of our hotter topics around here
35:07 He did not shut anything down but said, you know, that's something that we can walk through
35:11 But there was nothing in the plan that he looked at that he said strike that from the record
35:16 Great. Because as I think about it, you know, a lot of the gateway features that we talk about, which I think are very important
35:22 Those are just all Public Works's bailiwick, right?
35:24 It's either going to take some third party getting a permit to put it over our road or we're going to maintain it, right?
35:29 And so when I think about that, the glow in the dark asphalt is really cool
35:34 I actually they're doing it in Detroit. So I've been to Detroit there. I went to a special park district forum there
35:40 There are parks in Wayne County that are doing this in Huron County
35:45 And so it's not like it's not being done in cold weather snow areas
35:49 Now when I was there with summertime and they had just installed it. So we might want to follow up with how it actually went
35:55 But if you think about it from like some some of our parks have areas that are more like transportation corridors than they are
36:05 Internal kind of like circular things. And so I'm thinking like that's how we can maybe like if you're riding a bike down Athens and you're going through Madison Park
36:14 To then go into Cleveland, you kind of want to cut across Madison Park. So there's like ways in which we can think about how parks are and how
36:21 If it's 5 p.m. In December and you're on your bike, you know, there's no lights. How do you see your pathway? That's really exciting
36:28 The gateway elements I it's not on here because we don't own it yet. But
36:33 I've been trying for like three years my entire time on council to buy to acquire them. I think we're about to it's the green space along I 90
36:41 And so that will be ours by the end of this year or else, you know, I'm going to figure something out. But
36:49 But but that said, I don't know the car counts and this is I view public art almost as like who would want a billboard there, right? Like what
36:57 What would Lamar or some other clear channel want some sort of communication there because you just get eyeballs, right?
37:05 And like what has more eyeballs in Lakewood than our gateways and then our entrance off I 90
37:09 And a lot of people and that's why I was excited about what we're doing with Winterhurst
37:12 Because think about how many people come to Lakewood and it's like, oh, is this Lakewood? I don't know. You know, I guess it is
37:18 More interesting parts of Lakewood are more north though. So how do we create a sense of arrival of folks when they arrive? I think some sort of public
37:25 Art along the exit at Warren at McKinley would be really cool and that's more so like city funded are like it's on our property
37:35 We do it. We figure it out. I loved the asphalt are on Detroit extension. And so, you know, I'm assuming that's something that would take a lot of time
37:46 But for those of you that are unfamiliar, I grew up over there and that's just kind of a low traffic area
37:52 But it's a lot of pavement used to be and think about it from like a cultural perspective that was the trolley turn around
37:59 So before the apartments went up there, that was essentially the trolley barn for the rail car line that went all the way downtown
38:06 And so if there's a way to kind of pull some public art into that area, I think would be really cool and meaningful for those folks that don't have much public
38:15 So that's all to say like all of my comments are additive to what's already a great thing and I want to figure out how we can work out ways to implement it
38:25 Was encouraged a private sector, but I think there's things we can do that the city controls today that we can be working on
38:31 And I'm excited to help work with my colleagues on budget priorities to do those things.
38:38 Thank you. Other council members? Councilwoman Stiepid.
38:46 Thank you to everyone that was involved with this process. I mean, so impressive. I mean, just a master class on how to put a plan together, really.
38:56 I tried to, you know, as I went through it for the last couple days, just everything has been included
39:03 And I'm very interested in a couple things. The youth engagement that you did with the students, was there any degree of them wanting to also participate in creating any of this artwork?
39:17 I know you went specifically to the art classes and I can't imagine that it was just give us your opinion. They were probably interested in also making some of this art
39:27 And then opportunities in the community. Have we started to talk to churches yet or is that a possibility to work with them?
39:36 And then lastly, the maintenance and removal. If you could just say a few things about that because I know you went over it briefly.
39:43 I would like to hear about that because those are always the things where you're like, oh, that was a really cool mural and now it's not.
39:52 So one, we talked a lot with the art teachers were fantastic. We talked to Beth Ryan who is currently on the PAAB and her colleague at St. Ed.
40:09 We also talked to some middle school teachers, Mr. Vargas and the kids love.
40:20 And we also talked to Ms. Saban at LHS and they were very offline, very enthusiastic about developing some kind of program where they would get those artists, those student artists who were the most dedicated, the most involved.
40:41 And figuring out some kind of way, maybe a summer program and that's one of the recommendations in the plan.
40:47 Working with the community education recreation department to figure out some kind of summer program where a space is identified and that the artists develop a plan and then help implement that.
41:01 And a great example of that is Lakewood Public Library.
41:05 LHS art students had three huge kind of triptychs that they worked on that they designed and painted at the school during their art periods as well as after school.
41:20 And then because of liability issues, they didn't do it in situation. They painted them at school and then Lakewood Public Library installed those panels above that big grand stairway.
41:35 So that's a perfect example of what's already happening and I know that the teachers are chomping at the bit to do more and engage their students in that way.
41:46 Thank you. And then there's other questions. Could you? Yeah, sure. Absolutely.
41:50 Before we leave the youth, when I talk with the Lakewood Youth Council, they and the students across the city, the area probably, are so anxious for teen spaces.
42:05 This third space scenario and I'm wondering how we can tie, how we can start to work with the recreation department and the schools and in this art idea to put all of that together and come up with something really cool.
42:21 Of course, you know, when all of you are teenagers and I too, you want to be left alone, but you also want a little bit of structure.
42:30 You know, you want to be able to do cool things and you don't want to be totally left alone with it.
42:36 So I think that this might be another avenue to pursue with that idea.
42:42 And then the other question I was asking about was the community spaces, churches or any other community opportunities that we had.
42:52 That is something that is definitely going forward.
42:56 We did not engage any places of worship other than identifying them as as future engagement opportunities.
43:05 And I know that there's the one on Arthur Avenue extension.
43:10 There's a mural there on that church that I know is, you know, beloved by a lot of people in the community.
43:17 And then I think you had questions about maintenance.
43:21 And there again, do we start talking about students helping with that, you know?
43:25 I mean, of course, if you're the artist and you put your time and effort into something,
43:31 but could the students maybe help a couple of years later with touching up with that or I don't know how that would work with an artist.
43:38 But yeah, if you could just talk about the maintenance and removal.
43:41 Yeah. So we had a couple of different recommendations and our research yielded some really interesting strategies to to talk about maintenance or to tackle maintenance.
43:52 One was a practice that Shaker Heights is doing right now when they are commissioning or reviewing a potential piece of public art.
44:00 They have the artists fill out a maintenance form that details how costly, what kind of maintenance will be required, how often they'll have to maintain it.
44:11 So they get a picture of what will be needed for that piece of art down the road.
44:15 And that's something that's in the plan.
44:17 We also talked about adopting decommissioning of public art.
44:25 There are regulations that other communities have adopted so that when it comes time to take down a piece of public art, the city is absolutely within its rights to do so.
44:36 We also discuss different strategies for making sure that there is, you know, one, if an artist can paint on a panel that can then be taken down,
44:52 that artist could then have a right to that artwork or that panel, whatever substance it's painted on or applied to could then be used in the future.
45:03 If that's city property, then so that's that's a really great way to make sure that when the lifespan of public art is over, it's decommissioned in an appropriate way and a way that's either sustainable or can go back to the artist.
45:23 Councilman Hamilton-Steiner.
45:25 Thank you, President Keppel.
45:28 I agree with all the comments here so far.
45:31 This master plan is impactful and it's just amazing.
45:35 And I really enjoyed it.
45:37 And what I really enjoyed is seeing and calling out the diversity index and in particular looking at Word4.
45:46 And I don't think any of us could be surprised by that data.
45:50 I know I wasn't surprised by that.
45:52 But seeing it in actual visual and that you took the time to really draw attention to that and bring attention to the plan tells me that the steering committee and everybody involved was really intentional about ensuring that this plan that we that public art is inclusive and that we want to make that accessible.
46:12 And that shows in the vision and which I appreciate and is awesome.
46:18 Going off the survey, I guess I wasn't super shocked.
46:23 And I would love to know your thoughts when asking about if respondents were asked if they thought the current public art in Lakewood reflects the community's identity and values where 63 responded yes.
46:37 And then they were asked if their interest culture and heritage were being represented in 52% said yes.
46:43 And it seems like everyone has really thought about those responses and have created this sort of implementation to address that.
46:54 Because I know I responded no on that second one because I was looking around and if I thought about it, I'm like no, I'm not represented in any of the existing art thus far really.
47:07 So I appreciate that attention to detail to ensuring that our public art moving forward is intentional and inclusive.
47:19 And I'm also happy to see the involvement of non Lakewood schools.
47:24 I think sometimes I even forget that I know we have non Lakewood City schools in Lakewood, but sometimes I forget, oh, they're still an institution and those are students that also may be Lakewood residents.
47:36 But even if they're not Lakewood residents, we probably should connect with them.
47:40 So I see this as an opportunity to strengthen the relationships with not just our current Lakewood schools, but the non Lakewood schools as well.
47:50 And I'm really interested in actually this is on behalf of my youngest one who remarks that at the Lakewood Arts Festival as an example, she's like, well, why isn't there dancing?
48:02 And so she would love to see some sort of other performance art that's around.
48:08 And I think that that is also a good way to reach young people, too, is having any sort of interactive artist dancing.
48:16 Anything like that would be great.
48:19 And then I guess my actual only real question I have is ultimately who owns this plan?
48:28 Where is it going to be housed? Who's ultimately charged with that implementation?
48:36 Because it's great. You can have a plan and there's all these, you know, there's implementation.
48:43 And so who's actually going to be the one to implement it?
48:47 I don't want to see us do all this work and then it doesn't get implemented.
48:52 I think that's me. All right. Wonderful.
48:55 Yeah. So one of the things that was one of my biggest takeaways from this plan was seeing that even though I am the public art department,
49:03 how many opportunities there are for collaboration, taking advantage of our public art advisory board who is a really active group of artists who want to be engaged more.
49:12 They don't want to just meet quarterly. They really like what we do.
49:15 They want to be a little bit more involved. So taking advantage of those people who are willing to be supportive,
49:20 as well as leveraging, you know, the funds that we get from our capital budget to do some of those Ohio Arts councils.
49:26 And the county did a nice job of giving us some of those opportunities to see where we can, you know, we've we've had we've had a lot of low hanging fruit with our public art.
49:36 And at this point, you know, we're interested.
49:40 And one of the reasons for the plan was to think about some more significant investments.
49:44 And this gives us the understanding to do it. And knowing that it's not all on my plate is really helpful.
49:51 Obviously, I take all the guidance from Angie and our department and the administration, but it'll be sitting in my office.
49:58 And I think to add on to that, in creating the implementation tables, we sometimes run into we we should maybe include a disclaimer,
50:08 because sometimes we identify a lead agency that isn't necessarily the city.
50:15 And so we try to to engage those people like what alive is sometimes the lead agency.
50:23 Sometimes it's a community education or recreation department.
50:26 So in that case, it's like so we're not making this this isn't a task that we're giving to them.
50:33 More so it's people at the city engaging them and saying, hey, what do you think about you guys doing this?
50:40 You know, so it's even though, you know, sometimes not necessarily the city who needs to lead the way.
50:47 They sometimes will initiate and then pass it off.
50:50 Thank you. I appreciate that.
50:55 And my my final comment is actually just came to me as you know, as I noticed, you drew attention to Cannon Avenue that has their
51:05 tremendous Halloween spectacular.
51:08 If you've never gone down Cannon Avenue Halloween night, it's amazing.
51:12 They have a candy cannon.
51:14 I mean, and the pirate and it's fire.
51:17 I mean, it's it's just it's it's an experience.
51:20 So I was like, and then we have, you know, the spooky pooch parade.
51:24 So I'm like, I'm thinking that we may be wanting to rename ourselves in for the month of October Halloween town.
51:30 You know, we may want to be, you know, go for that.
51:35 Thank you. Thank you.
51:37 I just wanted to say, I think that the other main owner of whoever's sitting in these chairs up here because we have to embrace it.
51:47 And you have to commit to funding these efforts.
51:52 I actually did have a question in your funding, because when we're talking about maintenance, you know, it's for the murals.
52:02 Well, two thoughts.
52:03 One is I think sometimes people identify the murals as their favorite because that's what they've seen.
52:07 That's what that's what's been here.
52:09 But two is a lot of them that are applied to the brick with the wraps.
52:14 You don't necessarily need like you're not going to have a bunch of we need to pay for a new wrap, basically.
52:21 Right. To put it back on.
52:22 So so there was a slide that had like a five year budget.
52:28 And I think I don't remember which one that is.
52:30 But so is that budget is the idea of it, you know, goes up each year to add to the amount of art or it also includes maintenance for things like replacing wraps.
52:45 So I think there was discussion about what, you know, the potential of increasing the annual budget.
52:51 There was also discussion of dedicating one year to maintenance or removal of the public art that needs to come down.
53:01 And then also, you know, kind of sandbagging certain years and letting that pot of money grow.
53:07 So to your point that, you know, there are a lot of murals, maybe that pot of money grows and Lakewood can commission a piece of public art that is more costly.
53:19 Some of those big sculptures, some of those interactive pieces of art that just cost more.
53:25 So I don't does that get to your question?
53:28 I think, you know, to Councilman Evans point, like we've on council, we've expressed wanting to increase the public art budget.
53:37 But I think we sort of need to have as we continue to increase public art, the maintenance is going to continue to increase.
53:47 And it's also to the point about who owns it.
53:50 It's also as it does intersect with all of these other plans is keeping it.
53:56 So it's not just Amanda having to go and be like, hey, guys, when you're redoing the street, can we do some art?
54:02 You know, is that that the rest of the administrative team also needs to be aware of this so that there's communication between that.
54:10 But I want to make sure I get to see Councilman Bixenstein wants to comment.
54:15 Thank you, President Keppel.
54:18 This plan is simply outstanding.
54:20 So kudos to everyone who contributed to it.
54:24 You know, I know some folks have already talked about this, but some of the things that really stood out to me, I love the emphasis on walkability with the quarter mile or half mile walk shed.
54:34 Love the diversity index and this idea of fair art distribution being really emphasized.
54:41 I also really love, as Councilperson Baker said, this installing more asphalt art and really prioritizing pedestrian safety while also adding to the aesthetics of our community.
54:55 You know, to the point of embracing the vision talking about unexpected places of art and Councilperson or Council Vice President Baker's talking about the, you know, the edges of our community.
55:10 I find the industrial sector along Brea Road to be intriguing as sort of a blank canvas, if you will.
55:21 And to Councilperson Hamilton-Steiner's comments, that stood out to me as well.
55:26 You know, whereas the survey, the responses were all really glowing, but when I saw 52% on the representation question, that really seems like an opportunity for growth.
55:37 And so, you know, I think it's an exciting opportunity to address.
55:40 The only other thing I'll say, and I don't really have a question per se, is, you know, we're operating in this time period where AI is increasingly dominating our lives.
55:50 And it's so refreshing to see an emphasis on real art at a time when, you know, art authenticity is often under attack.
55:59 So I appreciate it from that lens as well.
56:03 You know, what was really interesting in talking to artists, they, those artists that have done public art in Lakewood, we talked about, you know, the vinyl wraps and different options to put, to print their art on something else and then apply it.
56:24 And they felt that while that makes things easy in a lot of respects and is cost effective, there's something lost, to your point about community connection.
56:36 And so I feel like we tried to address that in the plan with some different options and strategies to kind of hit that middle ground.
56:47 Even if it's a panel that's painted on site and then placed on the building or a sculpture, you know, doing some kind of like a mini sculpture or some kind of form and then for a sculptor to take it back and work in his or her studio.
57:04 But yeah, I thought that was really interesting how much the artists were focused on that community connection and having that real experience.
57:17 We're going to go slightly over here, but I want to make sure we get Councilman Boyd.
57:21 Thanks, Madam Chair.
57:23 To pick up on a number of comments from you, from Councilman Baker, from Councilman Hamilton, Steiner, and others.
57:31 So first of all, great work, everybody. Great work.
57:33 Consultant Amanda, Dave Robar is the representative of the Public Arts Task Force or Advisory Board.
57:41 We've got a great plan.
57:43 I don't know what motions are in play or not, but let me continue in the spirit of asking some clarifying questions and also understanding how this might be used and how it strengthens what we've done to date and how we might strengthen it further.
58:01 So like others, I think it's vital that we diversify the forms as quickly as possible because, as Councilman Keppel said, probably people are responding to what they've seen.
58:12 But if we get illuminated and projected art, if we get asphalt art, I think I agree the glowing pavement, you get functional art.
58:22 That's one way to expand the budget is if the City Public Works Department, which is considerable for Capital Project, is doing interesting things, that can multiply what we're doing.
58:36 Performance art, for sure.
58:38 It should be temporary installation.
58:40 I mean, the airport's been doing it, the rock hall's been doing it, downtown Cleveland's been doing temporary art for a long time.
58:46 So I think I haven't carefully digested the implementation plan yet, but there's some judgment calls made in there.
58:55 I'm sure some good thoughts made there.
58:57 But what we prioritize when is according to whatever rationale the authors of the draft plan came up with.
59:05 But I'd like to make sure that we get one of more categories as a working, living example to induce more investment, more artistic imagination as soon as possible.
59:20 And then the other, the points about where the plan lives and if there is going to be budgetary capacity increased, where, who gets, who's the keeper of the funds, who's raising the funds.
59:32 I think it's got to be more than the city government, ultimately.
59:36 I think city government still plays a crucial role, but instead of it being 90 percent of what we do, it should be maybe 50 percent, then 33 percent, then 15 percent of a greater concentric circle of businesses, stakeholders.
59:54 You know, I don't know if we form a new nonprofit.
59:56 I personally would be interested in contributing to raising some funds from foundations and, you know, over time, putting some thoughtful proposals together.
1:00:04 But then that begs the question of who's, which accounts receiving the funds, how do we make decisions?
1:00:10 So I think the city needs to do the city's part.
1:00:13 But Amanda, you've, I'm hearing good compliments about your commitment and passion for this, but of course it needs to be more.
1:00:20 Let's commit Dave Robart to monthly meetings at least, right?
1:00:24 Because they've got a lot of creative firepower relationships in the professional community.
1:00:30 And so we can leverage more.
1:00:33 Got all these institutions, including Lakewood City Schools School Board member Colin Clark Sutton here.
1:00:38 They've got a lot of artistic firepower there.
1:00:40 So, you know, we can multiply all these things and then really get the community humming.
1:00:46 I guess I would love to have a follow-up discussion, maybe hearing in a different committee at the appropriate time to understand the implementation plan,
1:00:57 especially the maintenance, to ask the budgetary questions and begin to workshop this beyond some initial discussions here.
1:01:05 I'd like to hear what the 1% contribution concept was.
1:01:09 And the other thing is, so to what degree did we make implicit budget assumptions as a constraint on this plan?
1:01:17 Because we've been going along for some years at $50,000.
1:01:21 We could do more than $50,000.
1:01:24 So I don't, you know what I mean?
1:01:25 Like, to Councilman Kevill's point, we're going to make a budget allocation.
1:01:31 It works best if it's in dialogue with a plan like this, which now we're getting.
1:01:37 But if the plan starts here or here, it's kind of arbitrary almost, you know.
1:01:42 So what did we assume is our budget when we made this plan?
1:01:47 Is it that it's zero or is it $50,000 or a million bucks?
1:01:53 We used the baseline as the current $50,000.
1:01:56 Okay. And see, who came up with the $50,000?
1:02:00 Because that's an assumption we should be challenging.
1:02:08 But if we assume that the minimum was $200,000 a year,
1:02:12 how much more would we have in this plan is my question.
1:02:16 I will say that something that we, it's interesting because we usually hear the opposite of that when we go into a community.
1:02:26 We usually hear, how on earth are you guys going to fund this?
1:02:31 We should throw out this recommendation.
1:02:33 And something that we always say to communities is do not be constrained by cost.
1:02:40 And even if, you know, just a portion of the recommendation gets funded,
1:02:44 having an adopted plan opens up so many funding sources.
1:02:48 And I know you all know this.
1:02:50 But not only funding sources for the City Doodle After, but the Beck Center, for the school systems.
1:02:56 Having this adopted plan that those organizations and the city can point to increases your chances of funding.
1:03:04 So we don't ever constrain, while we're cognizant of what's realistic, we also kind of throw it out the window.
1:03:12 We listen to the community.
1:03:16 We get the feedback from our steering committee.
1:03:18 So we try to approach things in a practical way, but we do not ever constrain ourselves with cost.
1:03:25 And I'm not trying to give you a hard time.
1:03:27 And I appreciate your stewardship of the public tax dollars.
1:03:32 And probably the best point is that we need to over time diversify funding sources.
1:03:36 So it's not all on local taxes or something.
1:03:41 So I think maybe you take my point.
1:03:43 Could you explain the 1% concept?
1:03:45 Because I missed that in the...
1:03:48 And Amanda maybe will be better able to answer this.
1:03:51 So percent for art is an ordinance that municipalities can pass or the state of Ohio.
1:03:59 And they set the threshold for a development.
1:04:04 So either if it's a municipal development, something that the municipality is funding,
1:04:10 usually I've seen any development over like a million dollars.
1:04:16 A percentage of the total costs of that project are given to public art, like a public art fund.
1:04:24 And with smaller municipalities, that threshold can be lower.
1:04:29 So if it's a private development, then those private developers are required to take 1% of the total construction costs
1:04:39 and then give that to a fund.
1:04:42 And that's a really great way to increase the public art budget from the private sector.
1:04:49 It can apply to municipal projects as well, but mostly those are coming from the private sector.
1:04:56 Thank you for the time, Madam Chair.
1:05:03 Well, we have a copy of this...
1:05:05 No, yes, we do have a copy of this presentation.
1:05:07 So I can go back to that slide where we had the sort of five-year outlay of the funds too.
1:05:12 And, you know, I think that's...
1:05:14 It's sort of the way that this is...
1:05:16 One of the brilliant things about this is the way it is laid out is what can be done for different levels of dollar amounts.
1:05:24 So, you know, it sort of tees up that conversation about the budget.
1:05:31 We could talk about this all night, but we have another meeting we have to get to.
1:05:35 So thank you so much for being here.
1:05:38 Thanks for all your hard work.
1:05:40 Thank you, Amanda and the planning team, everyone who is part of this, Councilman Evans, Public Art Advisory Board.
1:05:50 This is excellent work and exciting to see come to fruition.
1:06:04 So I will move to refer resolution 2026-40 back to full council recommended for approval.
1:06:21 Motion's been made and seconded.
1:06:29 And with that, we will just take a quick moment and reset for full council.